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36 Hours in San Francisco

From left; Joggers head to Crissy Field, with the Golden Gate beyond; dining room at Forbes Island, moored off Pier 39; Danny Hess, an artisan at the Woodshop, a workspace and showroom.Credit
Photographs by Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO typically wows visitors with its heights or its sights. The hills sear themselves into memory after a few up-and-down-and-up-again cable car rides or punishing walks. Then there are the vistas: the sweeping views of the city, the postcard-ready Victorians below Alamo Square Park. But surrounding all of that is the waterfront: miles of Pacific Ocean coastline and the expansive natural harbor of San Francisco Bay. Once a working industrial area with pockets of outright blight, much of the city’s waterfront has been polished into another of its pleasures. Start exploring in the east, south of the Bay Bridge, and loop your way west to the Golden Gate and then south to Ocean Beach. In one weekend romp, you’ll join San Franciscans in many of the places they love best — and see what remains of their city’s maritime heart.

Friday

4 p.m.1) A RIDE ALONG THE WATER

China Basin, south of the Bay Bridge, is home to an entirely new neighborhood since big changes began around 2000. The University of California, San Francisco, has developed its Mission Bay Campus, adding handsome new buildings and public art, including two soaring steel towers by Richard Serra, a San Francisco native. And the opening of AT&T Park, the baseball field that’s home to the San Francisco Giants, World Series champs, brought new energy and new monuments, including tributes to greats like Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Rent a bike at the Bike Hut, a nonprofit outlet at Pier 40 (415-543-4335; thebikehut.org), and pedal the wide promenade along the water; there are also kayak rentals at City Kayak (800-725-0790; citykayak.com).

5:30 p.m.2) EMBARCADERO IMBIBING

Once home to a raised freeway — demolished after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake — and long before that a busy wharf area, the Embarcadero is now one of San Francisco’s most inviting Friday-night spots. Two inviting places for a drink are Waterbar (399 Embarcadero; 415-284-9922; waterbarsf.com) and Epic Roasthouse (369 Embarcadero; 415-369-9955; epicroasthouse.com). Views of the Bay Bridge are unbeatable at either, but oysters at Waterbar ($1 before 6 p.m.) can really set the mood.

8 p.m.3) BOAT TO A BISTRO

Forbes Island (off Pier 39; 415-951-4900; forbesisland.com) is not an island, but it is an experience. Created from a 700-ton houseboat, it’s a floating restaurant with an underwater dining room (with portholes), a 40-foot lighthouse and an outdoor bar within barking distance of sea lions. Its creator and owner, Forbes Thor Kiddoo, pilots the pontoon boat that brings patrons from a nearby pier. The seafood chowder ($10) is briny and delicious, as is an assortment of turf (including steak in a Cognac cream sauce, $29) and surf (organic salmon, $34). Don’t miss the 360-degree view from the top of the lighthouse; it may be the best — and the most unusual — vantage point in the city.

Yearning for a Saturday morning workout? Go for a run at Crissy Field, once a waterfront airfield and now San Francisco’s de facto outdoor gym, with joggers, walkers and cyclists cruising its paths. Activities run from the quirky (crabbing classes at the Civil War-era Fort Point, under the Golden Gate Bridge, 415-556-1693) to the caffeinated (outdoor coffee at the Beach Hut Cafe, 1199 East Beach; 415-561-7761). But the bounciest option is the House of Air (926 Mason Street; 415-345-9675; houseofairsf.com), a trampoline center in one of the repurposed buildings on the main Presidio post. Flanked by a kids’ swimming school and an indoor climbing center, the House of Air also features a dodge-ball court, a training center and an old-fashioned bouncy castle for tots.

Dining at the Presidio has come a long way since the days of reveille at dawn. Several restaurants now dot the northeastern corner, where much of the Presidio’s development has taken place since it was transferred to the National Park Service in the mid-1990s. One spot that retains the old military feel is the Presidio Social Club (563 Ruger Street; 415-885-1888; presidiosocialclub.com). As unpretentious as an Army grunt, the club offers old-time drinks (the rye-heavy Sazerac, $10, dates back to 1840) and a pleasantly affordable brunch (most items $10 to $15). A dessert of beignets with hot cocoa ($7) can fuel you up for your next offensive.

2 p.m.6) UNION STREET STROLL

Detour to Union Street, long a shoppers’ favorite for its locally owned boutiques and home furnishings stores. The owner of Chloe Rose (1824 Union Street; 415-932-6089; chloeroseboutique.com), who lives upstairs, has a keen eye for silk dresses and gold jewelry. Nearby are Sprout San Francisco (1828 Union Street; 415-359-9205; sproutsanfrancisco.com), a children’s boutique that carries natural and organic items, and more women’s wear at Ambiance (1864 and 1858 Union Street; 415-923-9797; ambiancesf.com) and Marmalade (2059 Union Street; 415-673-9544; marmaladesf.com). The San Francisco Surf Company (2181 Union Street; 415-440-7873; sfsurfcompany.com), run by a local wave rider, stocks surf wax candles and all sorts of aquatic accouterments.

4 p.m.7) NATURE AND ART

Take a walk through the hills and woods on the Pacific coast side of the Presidio, where miles of hiking trails lead to scenic overlooks (www.presidio.gov/experiences/trails). The Presidio doesn’t need much help being beautiful, but that hasn’t stopped artists who have placed installations and sculptures on the grounds. One is Andy Goldsworthy, the British environmental sculptor, whose ephemeral pieces in the park include Spire — a soaring wooden spike — and Wood Line, a forest-floor S made of eucalyptus. There’s also an ongoing exhibit called Presidio Habitats, which features an eclectic collection of site-based outdoor art. A map is available at www.presidio.gov/experiences/habitats, as well as at the exhibition’s pavilion in the park.

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The Cliff House (1090 Point Lobos; 415-386-3330; cliffhouse.com) has been a San Francisco institution since the Civil War. Still perched on the same overlook, facing the Seal Rocks and the crashing waves below, the Cliff House underwent a major renovation in 2004. The result was a vastly improved dining experience on two levels, each with commanding Pacific views. The Bistro upstairs serves entrees and cocktails under the watchful eyes of celebrity headshots (Judy Garland, for one, in an autographed glamour shot, sending her “best wishes”). Downstairs is the higher-end Sutro’s, where specialties include a two-crab sandwich ($29) or grilled scallops ($27). Try a Ramos fizz ($5), a gin cocktail — and purported hangover cure — made with egg whites, half-and-half and orange juice.

10:30 p.m.9) BEACH BONFIRE

Few things say California more than beach bonfires, a proud tradition up and down the coast. In San Francisco, free spirits still flock to Baker Beach, the wide sand expanse below the Cliff House where Burning Man, the now Nevada-based arts fest, was born. While the wind can be biting, the mood there is usually warm as groups congregate with guitars and good vibes. Take a blanket and a pullover and watch the stars, surf and sparks collide.

Sunday

9 a.m.10)SUNRISE IN THE SUNSET

Long the province of sleepy, almost suburban San Franciscans, the Sunset district, in the city’s southwestern corner, has become home to boutiques, cafes and arts spaces. For used boards and other surfing paraphernalia, there’s Mollusk Surf Shop (4500 Irving street, 415-564-6300; mollusksurfshop.com); the General Store (4035 Judah Street, 415-682-0600; visitgeneralstore.com), which stocks everything from jeans to slingshots; and the Woodshop (3725 Noriega Street, woodshopsf.com), a collective of four artisans whose works range from customized chairs to hand-painted signs. The group, friendly and usually bearded, says their workspace is by appointment only, but most of the time, a knock on the door will do.

Noon11) OTHER SIDE OF THE PARK

The western edge of Golden Gate Park, facing Ocean Beach, has a Rodney Dangerfield feel, less known and appreciated than the park’s cityside flanks. But its offerings are impressive, including a cheap and public nine-hole golf course, a bison enclave and serene fly-fishing ponds. A good place to convene for any park adventure is the Park Chalet (1000 Great Highway; 415-386-8439; parkchalet.com). Here, just off Ocean Beach, kids run free and parents enjoy a brunch buffet that advertises “bottomless champagne”($25).

IF YOU GO

The Embarcadero has a cluster of nice lodgings, just south of the Ferry Building, including the boutique-style Hotel Griffon (155 Steuart Street, 415-495-2100; hotelgriffon.com), from $209, and the sleeker Hotel Vitale(8 Mission Street; 415-278-3700; hotelvitale.com), from $279. And the Harbor Court (165 Steuart Street; 415-882-1300; harborcourthotel.com) blends style with a touch of luxury (and killer views of the bay); rates from $186.

The Marina District and Fisherman’s Wharf are also well stocked with basic hotels and motels, but the Union Street Inn (2229 Union Street, 415-346-0424, unionstreetinn.com) offers individualized rooms, from $199, and is nicely quiet in an area often teeming with tourists, and after-work and post-college revelers.

Correction: June 5, 2011

The 36 Hours column on May 15, about San Francisco, misstated the location there of the original Burning Man arts festival. It is Baker Beach, not Ocean Beach. The column also misstated the merchandise carried by Sprout San Francisco, a children’s boutique on Union Street. It carries natural and organic clothing, toys, furniture and books; it does not carry only locally manufactured, and recycled, plastic toys.